Author's note! I own nothing of Marvel-verse except my OC character, everything else belongs to the amazing Stan Lee, may his wonderful self Rest in Peace, Jack Kirby and all the other amazing men and women who helped bring about our Marvel-Verse in Comic AND live-action as well as cartoon and animations and bringing this creativity and enthusiasm to our world and to other inspired minds of creativity.
Chapter 3
The flight back to America was full of sleep, research, and notes for the two ladies while they deciphered the files. "Any lucky," Peggy asked her, handing her a cup of coffee once they got to the home office.
"May need to have a second opinion just in case I'm wrong, but they're trying to recreate the Serum Steve was given. Unfortunately, the live subjects they've injected have not survived or had to be... Executed due to unforeseen effects that were deemed too inhuman to let them live any longer. Doctor Zola's name is on this file Peggy."
Sighing, Peggy sat beside the blonde as she took a drink of her own cup of coffee, "Well, that does not surprise me in the least. Schmidt is crazy on his own, to add Doctor Zola's technology and brains to his plans, it made them all the more dangerous. Well, finish up what you can, then get some sleep."
"I'll be a while. I'm going to finish this file then I'll start the report tomorrow morning. I'll sleep here so you can go on ahead to the hotel." She told Peggy.
"No, pack up, bring it with you. I'm not leaving you here by yourself. It's getting more and more dangerous out there Stephanie. I'm not leaving my best friend alone. Come on, I'll help you pack it up."
Stephanie smiled, laughing at something Peggy had said as they walked into the Hotel room they were currently sharing.
Getting the desk set up, Peggy sighed as they changed for bed and got into more comfortable clothing before they took their seats side by side at the desk in the room, "You read, I'll write."
With their reports finished and the files handed over with their report for a second evaluation, Peggy and Stephanie made their way back to Italy where they arrived to men returning with their heads hanging low, many were being brought back in vans for emergency transport to the 'surgery tent'. The medical tents were overflowing with sick or injured, or the dead. With the rain muddying the ground tapping against her umbrella, Stephanie looked around the area sadly. "I'm going to check the medical tents, see if they need any help." She told Peggy.
"We have to check in first, then you can. Come on,"
While they checked in and gave their final reports to Phillips, Peggy and Stephanie watched as a group of people started setting up a stage, listened to the music playing, and then Steve came out, trying to entertain the gathered crowd. Stephanie winced for him.
"Well, that had to hurt," Phillips said from his desk as he continued signing letters. He watched her leave, heading to the medical tents and surgery, likely to distract herself. And he didn't blame her. There was also a piece of information he was holding off not telling her just yet.
Walking to the medical tents Stephanie sighed as she closed her umbrella, and looked around the cots, the men who were uncovered and coughing, likely freezing. Looking around for blankets, she found a stack and grabbed a handful, and started walking around to patients and covering them, checking their vitals as she went and having small talk if they were able to. One cot she almost passed was of a sleeping black man she swore she recognized. His head was bandaged, and the blanket was half covering him, his long sleeves were ripped and dirty, like the rest of the men there, their clothes were torn and needed to be patched up, just like their breaking bodies did. Even their spirits. "Michael?" she asked herself with shock.
Walking to the sleeping man's bedside she gently pressed her fingers to his throat to check for his pulse and sighed with relief at feeling a light pulse, but he was cold. Gently taking his arm that hung off the bedside, she tucked it under the blanket and covered him before checking the man's chart. "Leg splinted, gashing wound to the right thigh, stomach pains, feverish temperature, wheezing breathing? What?" She was confused, she heard no wheezing breath from him when she'd checked him. Looking at the name on the chart she found herself disgusted when the name didn't even match the person. Stephanie even went a step further and looked at his tags hanging around his neck. The name on his tags definitely did not match the name on the papers. "What the hell is this?" Pulling the edge of the blanket up, she checked both his legs. Her confusion and aggravation only grew. No split, and no thigh wound. There were several things wrong here with this picture that she truly did not like.
"Can I help you Ma'am?" a rude Doctor asked coldly as he walked up, his expression cold and uncaring as he looked from her to the chart to the man in the bed then back to her.
Taking in a deep breath to calm her aggravation, "This isn't this man's chart," she started coldly, "Everything I see visually is not even on this man's chart, and this chart was hanging on this man's bed. His name is Michael Wilson. Whose chart is this? And where is Mr. Wilson's chart?" she questioned the doctor, looking to see if it was signed off as it should be. What she found was disgusting. Nothing was signed, meaning someone made a mistake how long ago and it hadn't been dealt with! Looking at the date, she felt her anger brewing, "Seriously? The person whose chart you or your staff have left here with the wrong man was brought here four days ago and you still haven't had someone sign these papers to find this mistake or how many others?"
Sighing, the Doctor took the chart from Stephanie with a cold glare as he looked at the chart and tucked it under his arm, "It was the name on the man's tags when he was brought in."
"His head injury is not listed on that chart. I know this man. And Jason Scott is not his name. And secondly, I personally checked his tags moments before you walked up to me, the name on his tags is Michael Dwayne Wilson. Who the hell is in charge of this place?" she demanded. Stephanie was enraged, these men had been left here since she'd been gone with little to no care. It was revolting, the state of their conditions when she returned.
"Ma'am-"
"Agent Rogers, what's seems to be the problem?" Peggy asked curiously as she walked in, her brown eyes looking between a ticked-off Stephanie and a very irritated and cold-looking Doctor before looking to the man in the bed Stephanie stood beside.
"Medical is failing in their tasks is what is going on. Misinformation, misdiagnoses-"
"Excuse me-"
"You are very much excused Doctor because from what I see right now, is a tent full of men being ignored their proper care. What the hell is going on in here?" she snapped, trying not to wake anyone up, but her rage was so full it was killing her. they were all fighting the same war, they were on the same side here, and these men were practically being ignored. "If you can't seem to do your job right Doctor, I'd suggest you find a new career." Stephanie snapped, taking the chart from under the Doctor's arm as well as a pencil and pen from his coat pocket. "Now, where are your files, I need a new chart for this man. I will evaluate him myself."
"Are you a doctor?" He asked coldly.
"She is medically trained, Doctor, I'd suggest you step aside, this one is not exactly someone you want to tango the wrong way with," Phillips said coldly, dismissing the doctor.
Looking to the Colonel, Stephanie nodded her thanks to the man, "Thank you, Colonel," she said to the man.
Nodding to the blonde female Agent, Phillips sighed and shook his head, "To be honest, that man has given me more of a headache than I was wishing for you and Agent Carter back, so I didn't have to put up with the man's bickering. Rich fool joined thinking he'd be entitled to something finer than everyone else. He didn't much like what I had to say. If you can kick him back down a few notches that'd be great. Now, don't you have a few patients to see to, Nurse Rogers?" Phillips asked as if he were bored, trying to just get the day over with.
Smiling at him, she nodded. "Yes sir,"
"Records and files tent is right over there, take care of our boys Agent," he told her, pointing to the small tent across the way from the tent Stephanie stood in. "Agent Carter, I need a moment of your time please." He said, walking away.
Smiling to Stephanie, Peggy nodded to the woman, "Good luck, I'll be by in a moment to check on you," she told the woman.
Smiling, Stephanie nodded and went about checking Michael, after looking for his previous medical file. There was none. It made her question a whole lot of things. "This is going to be a headache," she said with a huff. Grabbing a box of empty medical information sheets and evaluations from the medical tent, Stephanie started with Michael, to have the proper information for him since he was the first she had noticed the event with. Getting what information she could from his tags and visual analyses of him, the rest she'd get later when he woke up for a moment for her to ask him the man questions. She spent three days in the tent, hardly sleeping.
"Stephanie?" a weak man's voice asked, his brown eyes blinking several times from his exhaustion. For a moment he thought he was hallucinating. But if he was, shouldn't he be hallucinating about his wife back home? When the blonde turned to look at him, the big smile she gave him had him knowing he was very much not hallucinating, especially the sudden onset of nausea and the pounding headache that hit him. Moaning, he rolled to his side thinking and expecting him to vomit. He didn't want to throw up on the ground by his bed though, however, he wouldn't have much of a choice if he had to. When he felt a warm hand to his covered arm, listening to her soft words that were so very caring, telling him to let it out.
"Here, a bucket, just let it out," Stephanie told him soothingly. She had to look away for a moment, that way she didn't get sympathy sick and join the poor man in his vomiting. She was the only one there taking care of a tent of fifteen men. There were a few men she had no choice but to send to the Surgery tent in the last day and a half due to infections in wounds when she couldn't flush the infection out and other means of getting the infection out were failing.
Handing him a cup of cold water, Stephanie helped him drink carefully, and a cup to give him a moment to rinse his mouth from the bile. "How are you feeling?" she asked him softly.
"Like hell," Michael answered, laying back in the cot, then came the shakes. "You've been asleep for three days since I got here, Michael, if you have the strength, can you answer me some questions? I'll try to be short, so you can go back to sleep." She told him. She softly smiled at his weak nod. There began her verbal evaluation of him. "Wait, you were brought back six days after you went out to the front?" she asked him curiously.
"Yes ma'am," Michael answered weakly.
Smiling at him calling her 'ma'am', Stephanie softly blushed. "You can call me Lou, Michael. My friends call me Lou,"
Smiling, even though his eyes were closed, Michael nodded, "Lou? That's a nice name, don't really hear a lady having a name like that a lot unless it's joined with another name. Like Sarah-Lou, or Mary-Lou," he teased, softly laughing. He had to stop his laugh when a round of rough coughing caught him off guard. "So, how'd you get stuck takin' care of us, Lou?" he asked.
Slightly flinching at how she had done it, Lou bashfully smiled at the man, "I kind of dismissed the Doctor when I found you boys in unethical conditions. And you had the wrong chart on your bed. In fact, half of you had the wrong charts with the incorrect information on them. I swear, the Doctor and whoever else was in here are in the wrong practice, and fools if they can confuse a head injury with a leg splint." She told him.
"You dismissed the Doc?" he asked with shock. "Well damn," he was weak, tired, and slipping back into unconsciousness, "are the flaps open still?" he asked weakly, trying to turn over to look at the tent around them, but he couldn't his head throbbed too much and made him dizzy.
"No, I have them closed, it's raining and too cold to let that wind and rain hit you boys. I have candles and lamps, managed to find extra socks for you boys, a few extra blankets to try to keep you all as warm as possible. Anyways sleep. Agent Carter will be here in a few moments to take over for me for a little while. I am being ordered to sleep." She joked.
Smiling, Michael forced his heavy eyes open and with a trembling hand grabbed hers and held her tiny little and warm hand to his chest, "Thank you, Lou."
"Anything for my boys, now sleep." She whispered, smiling as the man easily fell back into sleep.
"And that, my dear, is your cue to go sleep yourself," Peggy said softly from behind her, a gentle smile on her face. That had been heartwarming to watch. Stephanie had gone as far as she could to get these men things to keep them warm. Even sewing patches into some of their tattered clothing when she could. She had bandages around her own fingers from the needles poking her. Her mother did a fantastic job raising Steve and Stephanie Rogers.
Taking a calm breath, Peggy watched the exhausted woman leave the tent to go sleep. As the hours ticked by for her watch and caring for the patients that slowly woke up, Peggy asked them questions on how they felt, made sure they had water, everything she knew she could do that Stephanie would do for them. She watched painfully as the 'Captain America' stage was being set up. The show had been much worse and rather painful to watch. When she asked three nurses walking by if they wouldn't mind looking after the patients while she stepped out for a moment, she was relieved when they agreed, and Peggy made her way to the tent they were sharing and woke the woman up. Peggy couldn't help but smile when she panicked for a moment, thinking one of the patients was in dire need. "No, they are fine, I asked three nurses if they'd watch them for a moment. I wanted to let you know your brother was here. Steve finished the show a moment ago, I wanted to wake you and let you know, maybe clean up a little, get dressed," she told the blonde, her brow frowning when she saw the paper note crumbled in her hand, and then noticed the redness around the girls' eyes and nose that was slowly fading like she'd been crying a few hours ago and had fallen asleep during her crying session. "Are you alright?"
Shaking her head, Stephanie sat up, rubbing her face, "No, but I will be. I'll meet you over by the stage in a moment." She told Peggy and waited for the woman to leave before she looked to the crumbled piece of paper Colonel Phillips had handed her when she left the tent a few hours ago.
'I am sorry to inform you that Sergeant James Barnes has been reported to be Missing in Action,'
-Colonel Chester Philips
Sighing, she slipped the note under her pillow and walked to a basin, filled it with cold water, and cleaned her face before dressing in a more fresh shirt, her tie and a pair of pants and her boots before brushing her hair and teeth clean before she walked out towards the stage, the rain was heavy and her umbrella was slightly difficult to keep upright from the downpour, but she supposed she had taken too much time because as she walked towards the stage she found Steve and Peggy funning towards Phillip's information tent. Confused, she moved to run after them, "Steve?" she called, "Steve, what's wrong?" she asked him.
"No time, come on." He told his sister, taking her hand and running with her to the information tent, "Colonel Phillips, I need the most recent casualty list,"
Sighing as he signed another letter, Phillips finished signing the next letter after reading it, "You do not get to give me orders, Rogers,"
"I just need one name, sir, Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th,"
Looking at Peggy, Phillips clenched his jaws tightly, "You and I are going to have a discussion later that I do not believe you are going to like," he told her. Softly sighing, Phillips looked at Stephanie with a fallen expression, knowing she likely hadn't had the chance to tell her brother. Standing from his chair, taking the finished letters with him.
"Please, Sir, James Barnes, B.A.R.N.E.S.-"
"I know how to spell," Phillips interrupted, "But the name does sound familiar, as your sister already knows, and likely tried to tell your stubborn self on her way after you here. But I guess stubbornness runs in the family, Roger. I'm sorry. More than half of the 107th was either killed, captured, or returned here with their tails between their legs. Your friend is likely dead or being held captive."
Looking at his sister with worry, he saw the tears slowly rolling down her face. Taking hold of her hand Steve took hold of her hand and gently squeezed her hand for comfort before looking to Phillips. "Do you have a plan of attack, any strategies to get them out?" Steve questioned with panic.
"Yeah, it's called winning the War," Phillips answered that as if it was a no-brainer.
"What? No, there has to be something more we can do Colonel, a team could go in-"
"Those hostages are being held in Hydra's base camp 30 miles behind enemy lines, we'd lose more men just to get there," Phillips said, continuing as Steve tried to offer possible ideas to go behind enemy lines for one man and the rest of those captive.
When Phillips finally shut Steve down, Stephanie watched her brother gain a look of disappointment and determination. That was a look she knew very well but never had she seen him in action after his... Serum injection. She had no idea what he could do, and honestly, she didn't think he knew what he could really do either. Maybe an idea of it, but not entirely. Following her brother as the rain came down over them, she tried to talk him out of it, "Please, Steve, I can't lose you too, you and Bucky and Peggy are all I have, I can't-"
Steve turned and pulled his sister into a hug, his emotions running just as wild as her own, "I'm bringing him home Stephie. Don't worry." He told her, kissing the top of her head, Steve ran to get his bag, grabbed the shield he'd become so used to having but stopped at the girl's helmet shelves while Peggy and Stephanie continued to try talking him out of it.
"Steve, there is another way than driving, please..." Stephanie told her brother pleadingly, sharing a look with Peggy as the woman sighed and nodded.
"She's right, there is a better way. Come on," Peggy admitted, honestly, Stephanie stole the words right out of her mouth.
Stephanie forced a smile when Howard helped her and Peggy into the plane then shook Steve's hand, "Stark, Howard Stark, nice to meet you," he said, looking to Stephanie curiously, "You okay there sweetheart?" Howard asked with worry.
"Our soldiers are being held behind enemy lines. I intend to retrieve them. As many as I can that is." Steve interjected, "Peggy said you can fly us to Austria, is that true?" he asked.
A bit curious, Howard nodded and decided not to question this right now. "Yes, I can, take a seat pal," Howard told them and made his way to the pilot's seat. As they flew, Stephanie found it awkward when Howard asked Peggy if she was possibly up for some Fondu on their way back, to which Peggy did not respond, and Steve's reaction was all the more perfect. Covering her mouth and pretending to lightly cough to cover it her small laugh. Reality sank in when the plane suddenly took fire from the enemy on the ground. It was new to her still honestly, and she had to say, she was glad Steve was in the same boat as her when he too seemed surprised, but she was proud of him with the way he maintained his shock. She stood with him when he moved for a parachute and strapped it on. "Oh no, Steve-"
"Sit down, we're taking you all the way in!" Peggy scolded him when he opened the doors and readied himself to jump.
"This is as far as you go. Get this bird turned around and back to camp!" Steve said over the screaming wind.
"You don't give me orders!" Peggy responded.
Smirking up to her, Steve nodded, "The hell I can't, I'm a Captain," he teased her before he jumped.
"Sorry Pegs,"
"Stephanie!" Peggy screamed with panic when the girl jumped out after her brother, she breathed a little bit easier when two parachutes opened up.
"That girl is going to have an earful when they land, aren't they?" Stark called with wonder, his own worry for the two.
"That's an understatement, especially since that's her brother she just jumped out with!" Peggy answered with a sigh after closing the door and Howard turned the plane around.
"What the hell are you doing!" Steve shouted as they glided down.
"Coming with you, what does it look like!" Stephanie called back to Steve.
Landing, Steve grabbed his sister and pulled her off the made road from vehicles and behind bushes and trees, "You are so grounded," Steve scolded her under his breath.
Smirking, Stephanie patted her brother on the shoulder, "Easy Cap, I got my big brother with me. Nothing can touch me," she joked, "Come on, we can get in by sneaking under the last truck going in." She whispered, ducking low when a line of trucks drove past them.
"Yeah, good thing it's dark," Steve said. He hated to agree with her, but, when she was right, she was right.
After Steve had cleared the back of the last car, "That was a little too easy," Stephanie said with a little worry.
"Yep, getting out will be much harder." Steve teased her.
"Definitely, at least I won't be jumping out of a collapsing building though." She commented with some dry humor.
Struck by that commit, Steve snapped a look at her, "I'm sorry, what?" he demanded his answer. However, when the car stopped, they had to make a quick exit. But again, the siblings were right. Getting in was so much easier, it was getting out that would be the problem. But Steve had to say, he was very impressed with the way she moved. Helping him take out the enemy as they made their way in without firing a shot or drawing attention. Smiling at her as she laid down a guard and walked over the cages of the captives, he smiled and grabbed the keys, "Good girl, I'm impressed." He told her with a nod, "So, you ever going to tell me who recruited you?" he asked.
"Nice try big brother, but that's going to remain a no." She teased him, looking down to the now standing captives and her heart jumped with hope as the two of them climbed down the stairs and started opening the cages. She looked through them all, hoping to find Bucky. "Bucky? James Buchanan Barnes, where is he? Buck?" she softly called, trying not to make too much of a noise while the men filed out with hope.
Grabbing his sister's arm, Steve pulled her around to the front as before they all left the cells, "Steph, get these men out of here-"
"I am not leaving you here alone. I am not leaving him here. He's here, Steve, he has to be." She pleaded with her brother, "I can't, I will not, leave him here."
"You let me get Bucky, you get them out, that's an order." He said with demand, ordering her sounded so cold. But it had her in silence and gave him the opportunity to make a run for the other side of the building, hoping he'd find others, and Bucky.
Swallowing her pain of possibly never seeing her family again as a whole, she bit her bottom lip and led the way with a handful of captured soldiers by her side and covering each other's back, getting to the doors she and Steve came through, she took a breath and peeked out for a moment, "When you hit the dirt, make a run for the gates, get tanks or trucks if you can, something to arm yourselves and anything that can help us get injured or the weakened out of here fast. Got it," she said to them, her eyes made contact with several of the men she had met when Bucky had introduced her to a few of his men, one, in particular, she recognized very well as Dugan.
Nodding to her, Dugan tipped his bowler hat to her, "You got it little Rogers," he said with a grinned tease when she gave him a smirked look.
Taking a nervous breath, she looked back out the door for a moment so she could count it down and hopefully not get them all killed. "Five... four... three... two... One," and she let them loose.
Hydra's camp was turned into a war zone. She ducked at the first attacker, taking out his legs then putting her boot in his throat before she took his guns from him. Looking around she smirked once she noticed a truck, one she and Steve had come in on and made a run for it, "Get the wounded on the truck, now! Come on, hurry up!" she called as she jumped out after moving it around for the men, covering who she cold before having to disarm a few enemies that had come out of absolutely nowhere. "You, drive!" She ordered over the firing and the blasting of the strange ammunition that Hydra was using against them. Helping a few other now injured men to the truck, she looked around then to the man who'd taken the injured men she had handed up to him, "Is that everyone!" she asked over the firing of guns and cannons, looking for anyone else, not wanting to leave anyone behind.
"Yes Ma'am!" the soldier said with a nod.
"Good," hitting the truck she shouted for the Driver to go before dropping as many rifles and guns in the trunk as she could for them.
"Watch it Doll!" a guy called from somewhere, how she heard them she had no idea.
"Turn! Damn it!" Someone shouted with panic.
"Shit, I can't! It doesn't turn that fast! I can't, it's too slow! Keep firing Fresno!"
Confused by what they were shouting about, Stephanie looked around her, she couldn't find any kind of threat ground near her, looking ahead of her, her eyes widened at the tank aiming for the stolen HYDRA tank that had her allies in it, Stephanie looked for something, anything, to use before she sighed with small annoyance at the belt of explosives on a fallen HYDRA soldier, ran for it, and sprinted for the charging tank. It must have been taking longer than normal for a bigger blast or something because it was taking seconds longer and the tank with her allies in it was trying to turn their tank as fast as they could. But it was slower than the occupants were liking.
Pulling a pin on one of the strange grenades, she jumped onto the side of the tank and climbed quickly. She was ticking out of time, literally. Getting to the top, she kicked the man opening the hatch, thankful she had kicked him hard enough that he'd lost balance and fell back inside and tossed the belt of grenades inside, closed the tank, and turned the latch on the lip, locking the HYDRA enemies inside.
She should have waited to take her breath and jumped when she had the chance to, because in her time to take a breath the grenades went off and the blast went up and out at almost every angle, sending her up into the air and hitting the ground with a nasty thud. She groaned from the pain, her body hurt, her ears ringing. But there was a pain in her abdomen. Putting all her strength into moving, she grazed a hand over her chest and abdomen to feel her way around. With her eyes blurring she could hardly see in the dark, the fire was hot near her, but the liquid her hand smeared through and the piece of metal that cut the side of her hand had her in shock. Rough hands grabbed her and lifted her, pulling a shout of pain.
"Come on love, we got ya!" a British accented man said swinging her up into his arms. She felt cold metal as she was lifted up along the side of what had to be a tank and pulled inside.
"Oh shit, she has shrapnel in her,"
"Well then take it out!"
"No!" she shouted with pain and panic. Hearing it being confirmed that she had been hit with more than just the blast had scared her heart straight out of her, but when one of the men driving said to remove the metal there, she panicked when one of the men reached to take it out, "Leave it," she breathed. "No medical out here. Camp, we have to get back to the camp." She whispered. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself down from her shock. Forced herself to look while her vision cleared. And she wished she hadn't. There wasn't just one large piece, she had about three or four small pieces of ripped metal sticking out of her, one in her lower left quarter of her stomach, and two or three in a line between her ribs at the dividing line of her abdomen. She was lucky the metal pieces hadn't hit anything else, like her face, her throat, heart, arteries in her legs, all that jazz. But this was still dangerous. "Get back up there, cover the others," she whispered, looking ahead of her to the men at the wheel, the other three looking at her with shock, but nodded. One went back up to the guns of the tank, a second went up to watch his clock hours and another watched the monitors while the two upfront helped each other drive the tank as they went.
"Steph!" She heard her brother calling with worry. He must have been running around out there like a fool looking for her. "Stephanie!"
"She's in here with us Cap!" one man called over, "She ain't looking too good though, got hurt taking out a tank," a man called out.
Her eyes hurt, heavy as they drove, inch by inch it felt like. Soon she found herself out like a light, the guys trying to talk to her to keep her awake, mostly Dugan.
"Hey! Come on sweetheart, stay with me here," Dugan said back to her. "Lou?" He called back to her with worry. Honestly, they were lucky they just pulled into the Camp, and everyone was cheering, but they had a really big problem right now. His cheering could wait. Making his way from the wheels and buttons, Dugan cheeked her. She was pale, cold, and very unconscious. "Shit, medical, we need a medic!" he shouted. She was out cold.
Stephanie hadn't even felt when one man lifted her up and out calling for a medic.
Bucky felt his heart drop. When they'd said she wasn't looking too good from taking out a tank he hadn't known they meant she'd been hurt. The blood that covered her shirt and half down her pants had him dropping his gun and climbing up part of the side of the tank to take her, "Lou? Louie? Come on Stephanie, wake up!" When she didn't respond, Bucky felt his stomach drop, "Steve!" he shouted, being careful to get off the side of the tank without jarring her, Bucky carefully swung her up into his arms, panic in his heart and fighting back his tears.
In a panicking rush, Peggy made a run for the medical tent with Bucky carrying Stephanie and the rest of the boys following after with almost equal worry, "This way!" she exclaimed in her rush, her boots slipping in the mud as she ran, "Doctor Mitchell!" Peggy shouted, running for the surgery tent. When the Doctor came out from the tent, she was thankful there was at least a doctor here. "We have a critical trauma, shrapnel injuries, abdomen, and lower stomach!" she shouted across the open as she rushed towards the tents. She had to say he was on top of it when critical trauma came in.
"Get her on the table," The Doctor snapped, getting her stations ready as fast as he could and calling for Nurses to come assist him. "Now!" he snapped at them coldly. When he looked to the massive crowd around him in his surgery tent, he blew a top, "Everyone out!" He snapped. Cleaning his hands then went about the woman's surgery as soon as they were out, and his nurses were there to help him the rest of the way.
Bucky paced back and forth, he wouldn't even let the nurses look him over, "I am fine, please, the others need more attention than me. Just... Just leave me alone, please," Bucky said, trying not to be rude. They were, after all, simply trying to do their jobs. But they continued to come to him, even after he informed them that he was fine. Perfectly fine. Physically that was.
"Bucky, she'll be okay,"
"You don't get it, Steve... I... I... Lou and I..." He tried saying it, he hadn't had the chance to tell Steve in a letter before he'd left. "When you said she'd come with you, I thought you meant standing guard or something. Why would you-"
Steve laughed. The man knew his sister just as well as Steve did. "You seriously think she'd have stayed where she was if I left her to watch?" Steve asked his friend with sad laughter, "Bucky, this was you we're talking about here. She jumped from a plane to help me come find you and the others, but mostly she came because she wanted to help find you. She... Steph needed to find you, she had to know you were okay, Bucky. She loves you, Buck. And I kind of figured you two..." Steve trailed off, a soft grin on his face as he looked to the ground before he started to laugh a bit, "Yeah, I know Bucky. I've known you loved her for years, and she's my sister. I know my sister. And I know you."
Shocked, Dugan and the rest of the boys shared a wide mas of shock, then respect for Bucky. And some fear for the man of the relationship went south. "Sister?" Dugan questioned, looking back and forth between Bucky and Steve before he began to laugh and patted Bucky on the back, "Your best friend's sister, man, you got some balls." He laughed. "She's a brave gal, Sergeant, should'a seen her," Dugan said, letting his own pride in the woman's actions being known. She sure had been something.
Softly chuckling at being caught, Bucky sighed and rubbed his face, "So, you knew... When?"
Smirking, Steve tossed the ripped piece of paper at his friend, getting a small laugh from Bucky, "Oh definitely, when she was about sixteen. But I had my assumptions when she was fifteen, but I figured to not jump to conclusions just yet, but it was official when you started rubbing your thumb over her lip." Steve teased his friend.
The two friends started laughing when several of the guys began to whistle and tease Bucky. But Steve had to ask him this, he couldn't, wouldn't let any man mess with his sister, even if it was Bucky. "You plan on staying with her?" He asked a bit seriously. When the laughing turned into coughing from the men, many of them made it out of the tent quickly, leaving only a handful of guys there practically hugging the corners to give them privacy, but to also hear the rest of the conversation.
Looking to his friend, his heart heavy at the thought of losing her, Bucky nodded, "I never had the intentions of leaving her, Steve. I love her too damn much." Bucky finally said. When Steve smiled and nodded, Bucky felt a little bit better about him and Stephanie, but he still had to be careful.
They spent hours like that, trying to distract themselves. When the Doctor came out looking exhausted, cleaning the blood from his hands even after he'd rinsed his hands in a bowl of water, he sighed as he looked between the group of men, "Who's responsibility is this woman?" he asked.
"I am," Steve said standing from the chair he'd taken in medical, "I'm her brother." He clarified when he saw the Doctors raising brow of curiosity as he looked towards Bucky and the men standing at the far back of the tent giving him their full attention.
The Doctor looked between the several men still there, then to Steven curiously, "She's being moved to her tent now, she'll be asleep for some time. The Colonel has put in immediate orders to have the injured and sick transported out first. Agent Carter said she'd accompany Agent Rogers to the hospital, Stark is flying a plane full out in a few hours. If you wish to see her, I'd suggest you see her now Captain."
"Thanks, Doc." Steve said. He wasn't surprised as the others rushed off with him to the tent. He was, however, grateful and slightly confused when they arrived at his sister's tent and found Phillips sitting in a chair reading a book.
Clearing his throat, Phillips closed his book and looked at them curiously. "Go on in, Agent Carter and Major Wilson are in there with her now. From what I hear she's still asleep." Phillips said, shuffling a bit to rest his right leg over his left knee to be comfortable.
Nodding, Steve walked in with Bucky and the small team of guys from the tank who'd saved her, hoping she was still alive. They had expressed how relieved they were once they were all notified that Stephanie was very much alive. Hurt, but alive. "Peggy," Steve softly called, his eyes watering when he looked to the sleeping blonde in the bed, Peggy holding her hand as she sat on the edge of the bed with tears in her brown eyes.
Seeing Steve, Sergeant Barnes, and others from the Tank who'd saved Stephanie, Peggy dabbed her cheeks dry and placed Stephanie's hand back at her side on the bed and stood, "Steve, um, she's um, she's stable, asleep, obviously, but stable. Major Wilson and a few others were kind enough to bring her to our tent, he's one of the men from the sick tent she cared for before... Well, um... yes, well, oh, right, terribly sorry," Peggy stumbled and motioned to Wilson, "Steve, Sergeant Barnes, this is Major Michael Wilson," she introduced the man to them.
Looking to the tall black man smiling at them with a nod, Steve shook the man's hand with thanks and took notice of the fresh bandage wrapped around his head. "You, uh, you okay there?" Steve asked while Wilson shook Bucky's hand and the rest of the guys who'd come in with them, each one introducing themselves to the man.
"Yes sir, your sister is quite handy in the medical field, did wonders for me and the boys there in the sick tent. When she came back from somewhere one day and chewed the Doctor a new one for leavin' us in some pretty nasty conditions." Wilson explained.
Bucky smiled as he looked at Stephanie asleep in her bed, "That sounds like my girl alright," he whispered.
Smiling at what the man had said, Wilson shook Bucky's hand again, "Oh, you're the lucky man she was jabbin' on about, well, nice to meet you in person Sergeant," Wilson said with a smile.
A little shocked, Bucky smiled a little bashfully, "Wait, she, uh, she talked to you about me?" he asked curiously, a soft blush on his cheeks.
"Don't be so bashful Bucky, I always talked about you," Stephanie whispered, waking up hearing the voices.
Smiling big, Peggy dropped back onto the bedside and took the woman's hand, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Oh Lou," Peggy wept, kissing the woman's knuckles. "I'm so glad you're alright," Peggy cried with a smile of relief. "You are never to scare us like that again. You hear me?"
Smiling weakly, Stephanie almost laughed, but moaned in pain, "Don't make me laugh Pegs. Hurts," she whispered.
"I'm sorry, Major Wilson, I think we should let the family and the boys see her for a moment, I'll walk you to your cot- no arguing, you are still healing Major," Peggy said sniffing back her tears and stood from the bed, helping the man when he would stumble a little here or there on his way back to the healing tent. He had used the majority of his strength to help her, and a few others get her to her tent and bed. He had sustained a head injury, and a bad one from the healing of it, the man was still getting dizzy spells, and nausea had not gone away.
Their flight to the hospital back in the states was silent other than the coughs here and there of the sick coughing or the very injured and air-sick moaning and groaning. Which she definitely felt. Due to her injuries, Stephanie was temporarily discharged from fieldwork until she could get healed up. She was stuck at a desk, but she was able to contact the wounded soldiers coming back to make sure they were all right and settling back into society and with their families, if they had any while she was in the states. Today was her lucky day though. Stephanie was being flown to the S.S.R. where her brother and his team were coming back from a mission they hadn't been able to tell her about. However, Peggy had. Apparently, her brother and the Commandos were going after Doctor Zola, the man who Bucky had confided in her and Steve that he had experimented on him, as well as others, while they'd been held prisoner. She was excited to see them. Nervously pacing with Peggy trying not to smile big at her as she twisted the lovely little ring around her ring finger. She blushed when she saw Peggy watching her mess with the ring.
"Are you excited?" Peggy asked her with a big smile. She had been there when Barnes had picked it out for Stephanie, he'd asked her for help because he hadn't known what to get her. The ring was a rose gold filigree etched design along the band with a small opal gem in the center.
Blushing as she smiled with a big smile of excitement, Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, I can't wait," Stephanie remembered when Bucky had asked her.
She had just been let go from the hospital but ordered to take it easy. Steve had come to get her and taken her to a little diner that afternoon for food after not having any actually good food for a few weeks. She had walked into the Diner and had been so surprised by the shock of Steven's Team and a vast majority of those she had worked with priority, even Michael had come with his wife who had thanked her and the to of them had hit it off rather well. Stephanie was shocked at how smart Michael's wife was. "And you're working at a sewing station? Carol, you should be up there with the big brains, you're really smart." Stephanie complimented the now blushing woman.
"Yeah, I think I can find somewhere for yah," Howard told her, he was surprised himself at how smart Michael's wife was, it wasn't every day an already brilliant guy found an equally brilliant woman, unfortunately, this woman happened to be married, so he'd want to travel that road carefully. Especially with Michael being such a great guy, Howard wouldn't want to mess that up in the least.
When the bell of the Diner rang, they all turned to see a grinning Bucky walking in with Peggy grinning behind him as she casually walked her way around the handsome Soldier to an open seat beside Steve as Bucky approached Stephanie.
When she moved to stand, Bucky eased her back in her seat, kneeling by the table and her seat, "You don't have to stand, Lou. I wanted to ask you," he started, pulled the little blue velvet-covered box from his pocket and opened it, "Stephanie Lou Rogers, the very candle that lights the darkroom, would you do me the greatest honor, other than putting up with me longer than you already have since the day I saw you on the playground at school, and put up with me for the rest of our lives? Marry me, Steph?"
Stephanie nibbled on her bottom lip as she looked down at the ring. It was beautiful. Hearing the doors opening and an overhead calling for Security, Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter, and a few others plus the announcement that Captain Rogers was returning with the Commando's Stephanie rushed to the front gates with Peggy and the others on their heels. When they arrived, Gabe had eased her back away from the team.
"Steph, just-just… Wait for your brother, please? Something… Something happened, Lou, we-we could… I'm sorry, just wait for Steve?" Gabe asked her, he couldn't tell her. He just couldn't and he did not envy the Cap of this news.
Looking between Gabe and the team, the way they all looked defeated, Peggy looked back to her with a look of horror and pained sympathy as she hugged Steve, whispered something to him before she let him go. "Steve? Wh-what happened?" she asked her brother, the feeling of growing dread consuming her as Doctor Zola was walked past her, a smirking smile on his face as he looked at her once he was walked past her and into the compound. Looking back to her brother approaching her, she looked around him then side-stepped her brother, "Bucky?" Stephanie called with panic, pulling her arm free from Steve's hand, she looked through the team members, he would have been unmissable for her. She looked around frantically before coming to eye contact with Dugan, the broken sadness in his blue eyes as he looked at her. The connected look was all she needed to know what was wrong. Why Bucky was here, why they all looked so broken and ruined. Sucking in a painfilled and shuttered breath that ripped her apart at every direction, Stephanie watched as her vision blurred and her eyes burned with the hot tears before they spilled over.
It broke him watching the pain in her, the thick tears streaming down her face, and the painful broken breaths she was trying to breathe in. He hadn't looked at Cap when he made his way to his sister, their eye contact hadn't broken as Steve took his sister's face in hand and pulled her into his arms, and held her. She continued looking at him. When she dropped to the ground, Steve had dropped with her, the both of them clinging onto one another for comfort while Steve whispered for forgiveness into her hair. He couldn't describe it, he felt gutted. And he thought Bucky's loss was painful enough, seeing her so broken and torn was indescribable. When she finally buried her face into her brother's arms, the wail she released was too painful for half of the Commando's to listen to that they all took off their hats and they all shared the same look with one another. She hadn't just lost a love of her life, she and Steve had lost a good friend, a childhood friend, a man Steve had given permission to marry his sister, to become real brothers. Not just childhood friends and schoolyard brothers or brothers in arms in this war.
Dugan waited for hours while Phillips interrogated Zola, he'd taken the pleasure himself in sending that encoded message for the Colonel in regarding the lie they'd come up with on Zola's behalf to see if the coward would tuck his tail and hid under them and pay for what he'd done. But it wasn't like anyone else was innocent, only they hadn't experimented on people against their will or ran like cowards. When the door to the room he stood in, watching the interrogation, Dugan turned and almost paled at the woman walking in and locking the door behind her, Dugan instantly looked to Zola and Phillips's back then back to Stephanie. "You shouldn't be in here, sweetheart." He told her calmly with worry. She was silent, scary silent. and that was never good. especially the cold deadly glare she had on her.
"I had to look at the bastard myself," she whispered, her voice breaking as she answered him. They stood there in silence listening to Phillips.
"Yeah, well, the Captain isn't exactly singing you parses in willing to protect your sorry carcass considering you're the cause of his best friend's death, not to mention the finance to his sister, who is also an S.S.R. Agent and a rather nasty piece of work herself when angered. And you, Doctor," Phillips said, unable to not laugh at the man, "You managed to piss them both off, I have to congratulate you because neither one can calm the other down now, and the only man able to calm those two down in single minute is currently dead and his body has been unable to be recovered, until further notice of course." Phillips told the Doctor.
"Zola should be executed, Dugan. Why is he talking about Protection?" Stephanie demanded.
"He's the only person close enough to Schmidt. We need him, Steph, even if we don't like it, trust me, sweetheart, if I could I'd march in there myself and put a bullet in him for the Sergeant." Dugan told her sadly. Resting a hand to her back he gently rubbed her back, hoping to comfort her from the loss she had just suffered a few hours ago. Peggy had been in her dorm with her a while ago, meaning Peggy likely had to leave to do something that really required her attention.
(*If you all have enjoyed the short story so far, please lookout for the next part of this beginning adventure with "A Spark of Life", that one, heads up, will NOT be remotely short at all. It'll be a slow burn working its way up to OC/Bucky Barnes, but mostly for the time being it'll be of growing up, hardships, hard choices, family, friendships, all that lovely jazz that the Avengers has already given us in the Movie and each character's Journey's starting with Avenger's and ending with Avengers: Endgame, part 3 will be the real smacker for OC/Bucky with their own dramas.)
